Monitoring thin film deposition

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring thin film deposition is described. The system includes a quartz crystal and a synthesizer to generate a modulated signal. The modulated signal is to be grounded through the quartz crystal. The system also includes a phase detector to determine a phase of the modulated signal from the quartz crystal in order to monitor thin film deposition. A modulation index can be selected so that, at resonance, high frequency of the signal matches the crystal frequency.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/886,333, filed Oct. 3, 2013, and entitled“Measurement Of Crystal Resonance,” the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Crystal frequency resonance monitoring is commonly used to controldeposition rates. However, a cable resonance effect occurs in longcoaxial cables in quartz crystal deposition controllers.

A Crystal Interface Unit (XIU) is a crystal resonance monitor based onphase locked loop. XIUs house some parts including the phase sensitivedetector portion of the measurement circuit only a short cable lengthaway from a quartz crystal sensor mounted inside a thin film depositionchamber. The XIU is then connected to the rest of the measurementcircuit (called a measurement card seated inside a rate control and dataprocessing unit) via a multi-conductor control cable whose length canvary up to 30 m. The design of an XIU includes a capacitance bridge tocompensate for the phase shift due to the capacitance of the sensor andthe reactive conductance of the cable connecting the XIU to a quartzcrystal sensor.

The present configuration provides many benefits including the abilityto measure the activity (life) of a monitor crystal that is being coatedwith different materials. However, such benefits are only available toshort cable lengths (up to 4.5 m for most crystals with a startingfundamental frequency of ˜6 MHz) and the allowed length further reducesfor crystals of higher fundamental frequency. In addition, the maximumlength of the sensor cable for an existing XIU also depends onparameters such as cable type, crystal size and geometry, sensor headdesign, etc.

As the XIU-sensor cable length increases, many of the merits expected ofthe existing design are lost, primarily due to reflections in coaxialcables, eventually leading to detection failure. Suppressing reflectionsby impedance matching is a common practice for fixed impedances. Theimpedance of a quartz crystal, however, varies across a wide rangeduring material deposition. Proper termination in this case (broadfrequency band and a wide impedance band) requires multiple matchingnodes and a switch circuitry to select the proper matching nodes forcrystal impedance falling either side of the specific impedance of thecoaxial cable used. Besides the aforementioned issues, long cablelengths also cause increased frequency pulling of crystal resonance andinvalid cable compensation track for current XIUs during crystalcoating.

Prior schemes experience a reduction in their ability to locateresonance when the electrical length of a XIU-sensor cable (which is afunction of both the dielectric constant and the physical length)exceeds a quarter wavelength of the excitation signal. Moreover, acombination of two or more XIUs is required to cover a contiguous lengthspan of up to ˜4 m for an RG58 type coaxial cable.

Superconducting cavity stabilized microwave oscillator circuits forthickness rate monitoring of thin film deposition have beendemonstrated. See, e.g., the superconducting cavity stabilized microwaveoscillator circuit proposed by S. R. Stein and J. P. Turneaure(published in IEEE proceedings, vol. 63, issue 8-1975). FM signals havebeen converted to AM signals using a cavity.

In some previous devices, the XIU reduces the cable length from thecrystal to the controller. The measurement circuit components are inXIU. The maximum cable length is, for example, 4.5 m from crystal toXIU. Beyond that, reflection and phase reversal can occur. However,single flat-panel deposition chambers for Gen 4 and larger glass are toolarge, 4.5 m is not enough. Longer cable lengths exhibit reflections andstanding waves at ¼ λ. ½ λ has the same impedance as 0 m—impedance isperiodic with period ½ λ and reverses every ¼ λ.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and method for monitoring thin film deposition are describedherein. In an embodiment, a system for monitoring thin film depositionincludes a quartz crystal and a synthesizer to generate a modulatedsignal. The modulated signal is to be grounded through the quartzcrystal. The system also includes a phase detector to determine a phaseof the modulated signal from the quartz crystal in order to monitor thinfilm deposition. A modulation index can be selected so that, atresonance, high frequency of the signal matches the crystal frequency.

In another embodiment, a method for monitoring thin film depositionincludes selecting, via a processor, a modulated signal. The method alsoincludes grounding the modulated signal through a quartz crystal toexcite the crystal. The method further includes receiving a modulatedsignal from the crystal and demodulating the signal from the crystal.The method additionally includes measuring a phase of the demodulatedsignal to determine a thin film deposition thickness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent when taken in conjunction with thefollowing description and drawings wherein identical reference numeralshave been used, where possible, to designate identical features that arecommon to the figures, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a high-level diagram showing the components of a system;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a problem with long coaxial cables;

FIG. 3 is a high-level diagram of a measurement card;

FIG. 4 shows magnitude and phase measurements from a lock-in amp;

FIGS. 5a-5b show an exemplary transformed phase modulated signal;

FIG. 6 shows an admittance curve of a canned crystal obtained with thepresent measurement system;

FIGS. 7A-7D show experimental data; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of monitoringthin film deposition.

The attached drawings are for purposes of illustration and are notnecessarily to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, some aspects will be described in termsthat would ordinarily be implemented as software programs. Those skilledin the art will readily recognize that the equivalent of such softwarecan also be constructed in hardware, firmware, or micro-code. Becausedata-manipulation algorithms and systems are well known, the presentdescription will be directed in particular to algorithms and systemsforming part of, or cooperating more directly with, systems and methodsdescribed herein. Other aspects of such algorithms and systems, andhardware or software for producing and otherwise processing the signalsinvolved therewith, not specifically shown or described herein, areselected from such systems, algorithms, components, and elements knownin the art. Given the systems and methods as described herein, softwarenot specifically shown, suggested, or described herein that is usefulfor implementation of any aspect is conventional and within the ordinaryskill in such arts.

Using a λ/2 cable in quartz crystal deposition controllers is notpractical because the crystal frequency (thus λ) changes with use. Thiscrystal frequency change reduces the window of operation. Only certainfrequency shift is permissible for a given cable length because phasedeteriorates as λ changes. Such phase deterioration decreases thefrequency stability and resolution of the measurement system.

Impedance and frequency change with deposition, so fixed impedancematching is also not effective. Wide band and wide load impedancematching at the crystal is difficult to achieve with components that cantolerate vacuum. Also, any additional element in vacuum can causeadditional line downtime due to failure. It is therefore desirable tomeasure the crystal resonance frequency in a way that is insensitive tothe phase of the crystal excitation (high frequency, e.g., 6 MHz).

Various aspects are directed to overcome reflection limited length ofcoaxial cables connecting a passive deposition monitor circuit to aremote quartz crystal sensor housed inside a vacuum chamber. Variousaspects provide a deposition monitoring circuit substantially immune toproblems caused by standing waves in long cables connecting a passivecrystal interrogation circuit to a quartz crystal mounted in largedeposition systems, which will then include any systems. Various aspectsreduce frequency pulling of the impedance spectrum mainly caused bycable capacitance load, especially in the case of long cables. Variousaspects are effective with active modes, whether it is fundamental,spurious or overtone, independent of cable length, cable type or sensorhead type. Various aspects do not require a varactor-limited bridgecircuit for cable compensation. Various aspects have increased frequencybandwidth to cover crystals with fundamental frequency above 6 MHz,limited only by the capability of the device synthesizing the drivewaveform. Various aspects can measure the filter quality (Q) of thecrystal. This is useful because measurement speed is related to Q.Various crystals permit a measurement speed of 100 ms. Various aspectscan measure a crystal without using an interface circuit such as an XIU.Various aspects include a high stability quartz crystal passiveresonance circuit for thin film deposition monitoring in a large system.The circuit can be used with existing rate monitors and controllers,e.g., by INFICON.

FIG. 1 is a high-level diagram showing the components of a system. Thesystem 100 is an exemplary data-processing system for analyzing data andperforming other analyses described herein, and related components. Thesystem includes a processor 4286, a peripheral system 4220, a userinterface system 4230, and a data storage system 4240. The peripheralsystem 4220, the user interface system 4230 and the data storage system4240 are communicatively connected to the processor 4286. The processor4286 can be communicatively connected to a network 4250, such as theInternet or an X.425 network, as discussed below. The processor 4286 caninclude one or more of systems 4220, 4230, 4240, and can connect to oneor more network(s) 4250. The processor 4286, and other processingdevices described herein, can each include one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logicdevices (PLDs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), programmable arraylogic devices (PALs), or digital signal processors (DSPs).

The processor 4286 can implement processes of various aspects describedherein. The processor 4286 can be or include one or more device(s) forautomatically operating on data, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU),microcontroller (MCU), desktop computer, laptop computer, mainframecomputer, personal digital assistant, digital camera, cellular phone,smartphone, or any other device for processing data, managing data, orhandling data, whether implemented with electrical, magnetic, optical,biological components, or otherwise. In an example, the processor 4286can include Harvard-architecture components,modified-Harvard-architecture components, or Von-Neumann-architecturecomponents.

The phrase “communicatively connected” includes any type of connection,wired or wireless, for communicating data between devices or processors.These devices or processors can be located in physical proximity or not.For example, subsystems such as the peripheral system 4220, userinterface system 4230, and data storage system 4240 are shown separatelyfrom the data processing system 4286 but can be stored completely orpartially within the data processing system 4286.

The peripheral system 4220 can include one or more devices configured toprovide digital content records to the processor 4286. For example, theperipheral system 4220 can include digital still cameras, digital videocameras, cellular phones, or other data processors. The processor 4286,upon receipt of digital content records from a device in the peripheralsystem 4220, can store such digital content records in the data storagesystem 4240.

The user interface system 4230 can include a mouse, a keyboard, anothercomputer (connected, e.g., via a network or a null-modem cable), or anydevice or combination of devices from which data is input to theprocessor 4286. The user interface system 4230 also can include adisplay device, a processor-accessible memory, or any device orcombination of devices to which data is output by the processor 4286.The user interface system 4230 and the data storage system 4240 canshare a processor-accessible memory.

In various aspects, the processor 4286 includes or is connected to thecommunication interface 4215 that is coupled via a network link 4216(shown in phantom) to the network 4250. For example, the communicationinterface 4215 can include an integrated services digital network (ISDN)terminal adapter or a modem to communicate data via a telephone line; anetwork interface to communicate data via a local-area network (LAN),e.g., an Ethernet LAN, or wide-area network (WAN); or a radio tocommunicate data via a wireless link, e.g., WiFi or GSM. Thecommunication interface 4215 sends and receives electrical,electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital or analog datastreams representing various types of information across the networklink 4216 to the network 4250. The network link 4216 can be connected tothe network 4250 via a switch, gateway, hub, router, or other networkingdevice.

Processor 4286 can send messages and receive data, including programcode, through network 4250, network link 4216 and communicationinterface 4215. For example, a server can store requested code for anapplication program (e.g., a JAVA applet) on a tangible non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium to which it is connected. The servercan retrieve the code from the medium and transmit it through network4250 to communication interface 4215. The received code can be executedby processor 4286 as it is received, or stored in data storage system4240 for later execution.

Data storage system 4240 can include or be communicatively connectedwith one or more processor-accessible memories configured to storeinformation. The memories can be, e.g., within a chassis or as parts ofa distributed system. The phrase “processor-accessible memory” isintended to include any data storage device to or from which processor4286 can transfer data (using appropriate components of peripheralsystem 4220), whether volatile or nonvolatile; removable or fixed;electronic, magnetic, optical, chemical, mechanical, or otherwise.Exemplary processor-accessible memories include but are not limited to:registers, floppy disks, hard disks, tapes, bar codes, Compact Discs,DVDs, read-only memories (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memories(EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash), and random-access memories (RAMs). One of theprocessor-accessible memories in the data storage system 4240 can be atangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, i.e., anon-transitory device or article of manufacture that participates instoring instructions that can be provided to processor 4286 forexecution.

In an example, data storage system 4240 includes code memory 4241, e.g.,a RAM, and disk 4243, e.g., a tangible computer-readable rotationalstorage device such as a hard drive. Computer program instructions areread into code memory 4241 from disk 4243. Processor 4286 then executesone or more sequences of the computer program instructions loaded intocode memory 4241, as a result performing process steps described herein.In this way, processor 4286 carries out a computer implemented process.For example, steps of methods described herein, blocks of the flowchartillustrations or block diagrams herein, and combinations of those, canbe implemented by computer program instructions. E.g., processor 4286can command the DDS to sweep HF, can record data from the lock-in amp,and can determine a control signal to send to a flat-panel depositionsystem to adjust the rate according to the measured resonant frequency.Code memory 4241 can also store data, or can store only code.

The system 100 also includes a measurement card 300. The measurementcard includes a circuit for monitoring thin film deposition. The circuitcan be a passive resonance circuit. The circuit generate a modulatedsignal which is grounded through a quartz. The signal is modulated suchthat a length of a cable connecting the measurement card 300 to adeposition chamber does not affect monitoring of the thin filmthickness. A signal is received from the quartz and demodulated. Thesignal is analyzed to determine the thickness of the deposited film.

FIG. 2 shows a problem with long cables. When the cable length exceedsone-quarter wavelength of the RF impulse, the crystal's impedancespectrum reverses its phase and the operable frequency span decreaseswith length.

FIG. 3 is a high-level diagram of a measurement card. A long cable 304connecting the measurement card 300 and the deposition chamber 302 isshown by the heavy black line. Detection of the fundamental resonance ofa crystal has been tested successfully using a rudimentary circuit andgeneral electronic lab equipment such as a function generator, a phasedetector 316, and a voltmeter (or an oscilloscope). The processor 4286can close a control loop to measure crystal resonance and, e.g., controldeposition rate. Processor 4286 can also control the frequenciesgenerated by the synthesizer 306, such as a DDS. Acronyms include:

PM Phase modulation FM Frequency modulation AM Amplitude modulation DDSDirect Digital synthesizer PM or FM Phase modulated or Frequencymodulated DDS Direct Digital synthesized signal

A synthesizer 306 (e.g., a direct digital synthesizer) generates afrequency- or phase-modulated signal. That signal is grounded through aquartz crystal 308 in the deposition chamber 302. The crystal 308 has aconductance that varies with frequency. At the resonance frequency ofthe crystal, conductance reaches its peak. Since high conductance (lowimpedance) is used, it doesn't matter how long the cable 304 is as longas the cable 304 has low enough impedance at the measurement frequenciesthat cable impedance doesn't swamp the impedance change of the crystal.In other words, the minimum reflection at resonance converts the FM toAM.

FM or PM modulation can be implemented directly with a synthesizer 306(see, e.g., Analog Device application note AN-543-High Quality,All-Digital RF Frequency Modulation Generation with the ADSP-2181 DSPand the AD9850 Direct Digital Synthesizer), such as a DDS or otherfrequency synthesizer or waveform generator. A low frequency isapproximately in the range 1-1000 Hz sinusoidal. A high frequency isapproximately in the range 4-7 MHz sinusoidal.

A phase detector 316 is to receive a signal from the quartz 308. Thephase detector 316 can be any suitable phase detector, such as a lock-inamplifier. The phase detector 316 is to determine a phase of a signalfrom the crystal 308 in order to determine a thickness of a thin film.

The T-Network 310 can include a resistor 312 on each arm, as shown, or aresistor in series with a capacitor on each arm to block DC. TheT-network 310 can also include an LCR series circuit shunted by a staticparallel capacitor representing the quartz crystal as in Butterworth vandyke model. In an example, ground is as same as the BNC shield 314 andtied to the measurement card ground and the body of the metal depositionchamber.

This and other circuits described herein can be used as thin filmthickness rate monitoring circuits. As thin-film material is depositedon the surface of the crystal, its resonant frequency changes. Thechange in frequency can be measured and used to determine the amount ofmass on the crystal. Repeated measurements over time permit determiningdeposition rate.

FIG. 4 shows magnitude (correlated to impedance) and phase measurementsfrom the lock-in amplifier as the high frequency is swept. A wide rangesweep did not show any peaks due to cable resonances. A frequencypulling of only 13 Hz was noted going from 0.1 to 30 m of cable length,which is much reduced compared to prior devices. The absence of thebulky controller cable and the simplistic nature of the circuit canresult in reduced cost.

FIGS. 5a-5b show an exemplary transformed phase modulated signal. Theexemplary phase modulated signal is transformed to an amplitudemodulated signal by the monitor crystal. The diode and the filter formthe demodulation of AM (as is conventionally done) to produce a signalsimilar to the frequency of the carrier. The phase of the signal is insync with that of the carrier when the modulation frequency of the DDSsignal matches the crystal's resonance frequency and the frequency ofthe carrier signal is within the FM/PM modulation bandwidth. In thisexample, the low frequency is 10 Hz and the high frequency is ˜5.97 MHz.(5.972960 MHz on the top, i.e., 10 Hz off resonance, and 5.972950 MHz onthe top, i.e., at resonance).

The crystal is a shunt for every frequency except those absorbed due toresonance. Using sinusoidal signals, a PM sinusoid is a sum of Besselfunctions. One component corresponds to the crystal frequency. When thecrystal absorbs that component, there is a Bessel function missing fromthe sum. The resulting signal is thus amplitude modulated (the crystalhas absorbed a component at the resonance frequency). Crystal absorptionis not phase-dependent; however long the cable is, the crystal willabsorb that component. A cable with a velocity factor of 0.66 can beused, giving λ, approx. 32 m for 6 MHz example.

The T network acts as a directional coupler. The crystal draws currentat the resonance frequency, so the signal into the demodulator isamplitude modulated. Demodulation gives the envelope of the signal. Thephase of the envelope is in phase with the low frequency (LF, e.g., fromthe Textronix described below) signal when the crystal is at resonance.Thus, the high frequency is swept (HF, e.g., from the SRS describedbelow) and the envelope phase is monitored. The zero-crossing of theenvelope phase indicates the resonance frequency, as discussed below.(Longer cables used with prior devices may not see a zero crossing ofphase.) Even if reflections obscure HF phase information, thedemodulated envelope still has a clean zero crossing.

Unlike prior schemes, in various aspects, the modulation index isselected so that at resonance, the high frequency matches the crystalfrequency. In a counterexample, when the modulation voltage is high, theresonance condition can happen away from the natural frequency of thecrystal. For example, in overmodulation, when crystal is in resonance,AM signal is not 100% modulated—is slightly overmodulated. However, forproperly adjusted modulation conditions, detected resonance freq. isclose to the crystal's natural frequency (with deposition—independentvariations). In other conditions, detection is e.g. 400 Hz away. Asfrequency moves away from resonance, the signal is reduced and there isless ability to detect deposition. Accordingly, modulation conditionsare selected (e.g., experimentally) to provide desired results.

FIG. 6 shows the admittance curve of a canned crystal (fundamentalresonance at 5.996913 MHz) obtained with the proposed circuit showingthe resonance of the crystal. The length of the cable used was 36.75 m.The second graph obtained using phase modulation and SR850 DSP Lock-inamplifier shows the cable pulling of the resonance frequency when thelength was changed from 0.1 m to 30 m.

An experiment was performed. FIGS. 7A-7D show the results of thisexperiment. Phase vs. frequency and amplitude vs. frequency curves wereobtained by using a prototype (circuit components laid out on abreadboard) and connecting a Textronix function generator as thelow-frequency source (e.g., 10-100 Hz), an SRS function generator as thehigh-frequency source (e.g., 5-7 MHz) and a Dynatrac or SRS Lock-inamplifier to monitor the output.

Phase modulation of the high-frequency signal was obtained by connectingthe Textronix generator to the external modulation input of the SRS. RFamplitude, Modulation amplitude, RF shape, Mod shape and Mod Frequencywere kept constant. Using a LabVIEW program and a National InstrumentGPM-USB cable, the frequency of the SRS output was changed(high-frequency sweep) and the Lock-In outputs (amplitude and phase)were queried and written to a file. The frequency was changed from belowresonance to above resonance.

The low frequency is selected according to the crystal quality Q. Qdepends on the type of piezoelectric material used, quality of thecultured crystal, processing of the blanks and many other things. Q isinversely proportional to full width at half maximum of amplitude (FWHM)of the admittance peak of crystal resonance. The modulation bandwidth(which relates to the speed of measurement and to the low frequency)needs to be less than FWHM of crystal. In other words, high Q crystaldecreases the measurement speed.

The low frequency can be selected based on bandwidth (BW). BW of PMshould be less than the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of admittancepeak of crystal resonance. Characterize per crystal type. Q was measuredusing network analyzer at different states of coating to determine FWHM.BW=2*(low frequency)*(1+Modulation Index). For example, for a mod indexof 1, low freq of 10 Hz, BW=40 Hz. Higher-Q crystals require lower lowfrequencies (Textronix). Therefore measurements are slower because ittakes longer to determine the phase of the lower-frequency signal.

The measured magnitudes during the HF sweep can be used to derive the Qof the crystal. The detected signal strength can be used to derive thereflection coefficient and the quality of the crystal.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of monitoringthin film deposition. Various steps of the method can be performed inany order except when otherwise specified, or when data from an earlierstep is used in a later step. The method can be carried out by a system,such as the system described above with relation to FIG. 1.

At block 802, a modulated signal can be selected via a processor. Themodulated signal can be a phase modulated signal or a frequencymodulated signal. At block 804, the modulated signal is grounded througha quartz crystal to excite the crystal. At block 806, a signal isreceived from the crystal. At block 808, the signal is demodulated. Atblock 810, the phase of the demodulated signal is measured to determinea thin film deposition thickness.

Example 1

A system for monitoring thin film deposition is described herein. Thesystem includes a quartz crystal and a synthesizer to generate amodulated signal, the modulated signal to be grounded through the quartzcrystal. The system further includes a phase detector to determine aphase of the modulated signal from the quartz crystal in order todetermine a thin film thickness.

The modulated signal can be a frequency modulated signal. The modulatedsignal can be a phase-modulated signal. A modulation index can beselected such that, at resonance, a frequency of the signal matches acrystal frequency. A frequency of the signal can be selected such thatcrystal conductance reaches a peak. The system can further include acable to couple the system to a deposition chamber, wherein a length ofthe cable does not decrease thin film deposition detection. A change infrequency of the crystal is to change as a thin film is deposited on asurface of the quartz crystal and the change in frequency is to bemonitored to detect thin film deposition.

Example 2

A method for monitoring thin film deposition is described herein. Themethod includes selecting, via a processor, a modulated signal. Themethod also includes grounding the modulated signal through a quartzcrystal to excite the crystal. The method further includes receiving amodulated signal from the crystal and demodulating the signal from thecrystal. The method additionally includes measuring a phase of thedemodulated signal to determine a thin film deposition thickness.

The modulated signal can be a frequency modulated signal. The modulatedsignal can be a phase-modulated signal. The modulated signal can beselected such that, at resonance, frequency of the modulated signalmatches frequency of the quartz crystal. A cable can connect a thin filmmonitoring system to a deposition chamber and the modulated signal canbe selected such that length of the cable does not affect thin filmthickness detection. The modulated signal can be selected such thatcrystal conductance reaches a peak. The method can further includedetermining a change in frequency of the demodulated signal to monitorthin film deposition.

Exemplary method(s) described herein are not limited to being carriedout by components specifically identified herein.

In view of the foregoing, various aspects provide measurement of crystalresonance frequencies. A technical effect is to excite the crystal witha drive signal and measure the effect of the crystal on that signal.

Various aspects described herein may be embodied as systems or methods.Accordingly, various aspects herein may take the form of an entirelyhardware aspect, an entirely software aspect (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, etc.), or an aspect combining softwareand hardware aspects These aspects can all generally be referred toherein as a “service,” “circuit,” “circuitry,” “module,” or “system.”

Furthermore, various aspects herein may be embodied as computer programproducts including computer readable program code stored on a tangiblenon-transitory computer readable medium. Such a medium can bemanufactured as is conventional for such articles, e.g., by pressing aCD-ROM. The program code includes computer program instructions that canbe loaded into processor 4286 (and possibly also other processors), tocause functions, acts, or operational steps of various aspects herein tobe performed by the processor 4286 (or other processor). Computerprogram code for carrying out operations for various aspects describedherein may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguage(s), and can be loaded from disk 4243 into code memory 4241 forexecution. The program code may execute, e.g., entirely on processor4286, partly on processor 4286 and partly on a remote computer connectedto network 4250, or entirely on the remote computer.

The invention is inclusive of combinations of the aspects describedherein. References to “a particular aspect” and the like refer tofeatures that are present in at least one aspect of the invention.Separate references to “an aspect” (or “embodiment”) or “particularaspects” or the like do not necessarily refer to the same aspect oraspects; however, such aspects are not mutually exclusive, unless soindicated or as are readily apparent to one of skill in the art. The useof singular or plural in referring to “method” or “methods” and the likeis not limiting. The word “or” is used in this disclosure in anon-exclusive sense, unless otherwise explicitly noted.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference tocertain preferred aspects thereof, but it will be understood thatvariations, combinations, and modifications can be effected by a personof ordinary skill in the art within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for monitoring thin film deposition,comprising: a quartz crystal; a synthesizer to generate a modulatedsignal, the modulated signal to be grounded through the quartz crystal;and a phase detector to determine a phase of the modulated signal fromthe quartz crystal in order to determine a thin film thickness.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the modulated signal is a frequency modulatedsignal.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the modulated signal is aphase-modulated signal.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein a modulationindex is to be selected such that, at resonance, a frequency of thesignal matches a crystal frequency.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein afrequency of the signal is to be selected such that crystal conductancereaches a peak.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a cable tocouple the system to a deposition chamber, wherein a length of the cabledoes not decrease thin film deposition detection.
 7. The system of claim1, wherein the frequency of the crystal is to change as a thin film isdeposited on a surface of the crystal and wherein the change infrequency is to be monitored to detect thin film deposition rate.
 8. Amethod for monitoring thin film deposition, comprising: selecting, via aprocessor, a modulated signal; grounding the modulated signal through aquartz crystal to excite the crystal; receiving a modulated signal fromthe crystal; demodulating the signal from the crystal; and measuring aphase of the demodulated signal to determine a thin film depositionthickness.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the modulated signal is afrequency modulated signal.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein themodulated signal is a phase-modulated signal.
 11. The method of claim 8,wherein the modulated signal is selected such that, at resonance,frequency of the modulated signal matches frequency of the quartzcrystal.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein a cable is to connect a thinfilm monitoring system to a deposition chamber and wherein the modulatedsignal is selected such that length of the cable does not affect thinfilm thickness detection.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein themodulated signal is selected such that crystal conductance reaches apeak.
 14. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining a changein frequency of the demodulated signal to monitor thin film deposition.